The
first draft of Madness: Chasing a Legendary Killer across the
Last Frontier
is finally finished after two years of effort.

It
is still very much a rough draft, and there's a considerable amount
of
re-writing to be done, but at least it's a complete account of the
1932 manhunt and my winter retracing of Albert Johnson's route across
the Richardson Mountains.

For those of you who have been so supportive and patient, I thank
you with all my heart. After this, I'm done with nonfiction for a
while - I can finally return to the adventures of the Burns Brothers
and other fiction projects. That's something I've been looking forward
to for a long, long time.

As
the title implies, MADNESS
was a painful
endeavor. I found nonfiction to be very difficult
to write. With the Burns Brothers, everything just spills out
of my imagination, steered by the stories and experiences of friends
and acquaintances. MADNESS, on the other hand, required
tremendous exertion to research and put down on paper, both physical
and emotional, not to mention the two trips to the Arctic in the dead
of winter.

But
the most difficult part was trying to find the time and energy to
write. My job as a prosecutor and my wonderful, growing family take
up almost every free moment. Added to that, there's my soul to feed,
which requires time in the mountains.

So
far this year, I'm ashamed to say, I've only managed to get into the
big mountains on two occasions. Once for my annual birthday ski descent
of Torres Peak's Dead Dog Couloir, and the second time for an attempt
at a complete ski descent of Mt. Rainier. The Dead Dog was as spectacular
as always, carving high-speed turns down the steep, 1,500-foot couloir
under bluebird skis. Rainier was outrageously beautiful but far more
brutal - I felt every one of my almost 40 years quite intensely. I'm
used to climbing Colorado's 14ers, which only require four or five
thousand feet of elevation gain. Rainier, on the other hand, demands
more than nine thousand feet of vertical and a high camp (meaning
in addition to axes and ropes and skis, you need to carry bivy sacks,
sleeping bags, stoves, etc.).

My
friend Vince and I managed to crampon all the way to the summit of
Rainier while carrying our skis, yet were only able to ski half of
the descent due to extreme avalanche and crevasse danger. Still, what
an incredible mountain! We staggered off exhausted and happy, already
planning another attempt to ski the whole thing.

As always,
I hope you are getting outside and seeing what remains of the Earth's
wilder places.